History 221: VISIONS OF VIETNAM
1)World War 2-50s War: The Green Berets (1968)
A) John Wayne as Icon
B) GB produced by Wayne, co-directs, stars; persuades LBJ to let him male film to sell war to American people. War simple struggle between good and evil, communism vs. democracy; lessons of World War 2 “Gorin’ our oxes”; Green Berets as “diplomats in dungarees.
C) GB as Western/WW2 movie: V was like the old cowboy and Indian wars on the frontier.” Frontier analogy: “Indian Country,” “Dodge City,” “Pony Soldiers,” Operation “Apache Snow.” Also WW2 : V. Communists like Japanese—creating a “comfortable war.”
2) 60s-70s Psychedelic War: Apocalypse Now (1979)
A) Francis Ford Coppola ‘s purpose: convey the horror, madness, sensuousness and moral dilemmas of Vietnam war.
B) ”Green Berets as villain—Col. Kurtz; everybody is insane—Captain Willard, Lt. Col. “Wild Bill” Kilgore
C) Theme—war permits absolute savagery.
3) Transition: Vietnam Veteran as psychopath: Taxi Driver(1976), Black Sunday (1977), First Blood (1982):thesis: “Somebody Would Not Let Us Win.”
4) Reagan-80s War: Rambo: First Blood Two (1985)
A) Going after that “somebody.” “Do We Get To Win This Time?” Enemy is U.S. govt., betrayed soldiers
B) Rambo as Cold War Movie—Russians behind the Vietnam War, control the South Vietnamese.
C) Rambo’s Thesis: War lost at home by politicians, b ureaucrats, anti-war protestors—dangerous as well as wrong.
5) Conclusions: GB,AN, R share same flaw: view war through an American cultural prison—as western, WW2/Cold War movie. No attempt to explore or understand Vietnamese culture, history, politics. SV people are either victims of International Communism (GB), victims of American Imperialism (AN), or Russian Imperialism (Rambo). Films’ failures reflect U.S. failure—never understood Vietnam as specific county, saw it always from familiar perspective or ideology which never fit the situation. Result: disaster. Iraq—Vietnam Reux?
Rambo: First Blood Part II (1985)
Writing credits Kevin Jarre (story) and Sylvester Stallone
Directed by George P. Cosmatos
Sylvester Stallone John J. Rambo
Richard Crenna Col. Samuel Trautman
Charles Napier Marshall Murdock
Steven Berkoff Lt. Col. Podovsky
Julia Nickson-Soul Co Bao (as Julia Nickson)
Martin Kove .... Ericson
George Cheung Tay (as George Kee Cheung)
Andy Wood .... Banks
William Ghent .... Capt. Vinh (POW camp commander)
Voyo Goric .... Sgt. Yushin
Dana Lee .... Kish
Bagan Coleman Gunboat captain
Steven Williams Lifer
Don Collins .... POW #1
Christopher Grant POW #2